GREAT FALLS — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana (BCBSMT) awarded Alliance for Youth a $50,000 Healthy Kids, Healthy Families® (HKHF) grant Thursday, Sept. 9.
The funding will support efforts to improve well-being, reduce depression and prevent suicide; prevent substance abuse among youth and support parents and guardians struggling with substance abuse; and strengthen families, encourage nurturing parenting and reduce child abuse and neglect.
“We remain deeply committed to addressing mental health and working with like-minded organizations to prevent substance abuse and misuse, and Alliance for Youth is a strong partner in this ongoing effort,” said John Doran, BCBSMT Divisional Vice President of External Affairs. “We are confident in their plan to improve the lives of Montana youth and strengthen families through a multifaceted educational approach that will reach both rural and urban populations.”
The project will serve Montanans in Cascade, Pondera and Teton counties with a focus on Great Falls and the surrounding rural communities, according to Alliance for Youth. It will place emphasis on serving urban Native American populations from the Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Chippewa Cree, Gros Ventre and Little Shell tribes; homeless youth and children in foster care; parents; community members with mental health and substance abuse issues and concerns, and veterans.
To learn more about Alliance for Youth, visit www.allianceforyouth.org.
The HKHF initiative is an ongoing commitment by BCBSMT to invest in and partner with like-minded nonprofit organizations that offer sustainable, measurable programs to reach children and their families in the five following focus areas: nutrition, physical activity, disease prevention and management, substance abuse prevention, and suicide prevention.
Since 2014, BCBSMT has awarded more than $1.5 million through the HKHF initiative. In addition, BCBSMT contributes more than $500,000 each year to nonprofit organizations that support efforts throughout the state to improve the health of all Montanans. BCBSMT also presents the Governor’s Cup each June and supports the Caring Foundation of Montana’s Care Van® program, which provides access to preventive health care services at low or no cost. The Governor’s Cup, which has been running strong since 1974, promotes the benefits of physical activity though running and walking, is host to more than 4,500 participants each year, whose race fees directly benefit the Caring Foundation of Montana.
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About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana (BCBSMT) is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. BCBSMT is the largest and longest-standing statewide, customer-owned health insurer and full-service health benefits administrator in Montana. BCBSMT has provided high-quality health insurance plans and administrative services to Montanans for more than 80 years and is committed to ensuring its members — no matter where they are on the health spectrum — achieve maximum health. Headquartered in Helena with five regional offices, BCBSMT’s purpose is to stand with its members in sickness and in health.